A large assortment of foodstuffs still continue to be preserved in the traditional canning process in which such foodstuffs are processed so as to remove any bacterial content therefrom, and are then hermetically sealed in the can container. The foodstuffs involved are almost always packed in a liquid medium, usually water or oil, which are employed to prevent unwanted desiccation of the foodstuff, to serve as a buffer or cushion for the foodstuff during shipping and handling of the sealed cans, and as a difficult-to-remove remnant of the canning process.
While many foodstuffs, i.e., fruits, vegetables and meats of all kinds are put up in cans, one type which has long caused special concern are the meats, because the packing or residue liquid involved is an oil or fat, or is an oil- or fat-based composition. Not only is such a liquid undesirable when it gets on the hands of the person who is attempting to remove the contents of the can, but there will be dissolved in that oil or fat, or oil- or fat-based composition, proteins and other organic contents from the meat which not only have a disagreeable odor in most cases, but add to the undesirable feel of the liquid on the hands of the person involved. Moreover, these substances are often very difficult to remove altogether, even with repeated scrubbing with soap and water. This is particularly the case with seafood, e.g., oysters, mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops, tunafish, salmon and white fish of various kinds.
Cans used in canning foodstuffs are made of all sorts of materials and in a variety of shapes. However, steel and aluminum, and composite materials utilizing steel and aluminum, are the predominant materials used to make cans, although rigid synthetic resins are becoming more common. These cans are formed with a cylindrical sidewall, and a circular top and bottom joined to the sidewall by seams. An example of a typical can used for these purposes is that in which chunk or flake tuna is packed, usually in water. Such a can is about 9 cm in diameter, and about 6 cm tall.
While aluminum cans have tops or lids which can be removed by hand, i.e., without having to use an implement of some kind, steel cans almost invariably require the use of such an implement, the most common of which is the ordinary can opener. Such devices, whether power assisted or not, usually perforate and cut the top of the can by shearing it between two sharp wheels or rollers, which shear the periphery of the can, i.e., the circumference of the can lid, as they move together around it. As a result of this action, there is a sufficient opening between the wall of the can and the edge of the lid to permit draining of the liquid medium in the can by simply inverting the can, while the lid maintains the solid contents of the can in place. Indeed, if the lid has been totally freed from the can wall, it can be used to compress or squeeze the solid contents of the can so as to remove even more liquid from the can, than could be accomplished by just allowing the liquid to drain from the can while it was being held upside down.
It is at this juncture in the above-described manual procedure for removing the liquid medium from canned foodstuffs that two hazards arise. The first hazard involves injury to the person carrying out the procedure, caused by the sharp and jagged edges of the cut can lid. Cuts to the hands, especially the fingers, are not uncommon, and can often be severe. The second hazard involves injury to the sensibilities, in particular, sensitiveness or susceptibility to painful olfactory sensations. Seafood in particular, e.g., tunafish, has a persistent and offensive odor, probably due to the presence of endogenous oils in the organs and flesh of these creatures, which cannot be entirely eliminated in the canning process. Most persons find these odors very disagreeable and very difficult to remove altogether from the skin. These hazards are further exacerbated by the need to apply considerable amount of compressive three to the can lid in order to squeeze out most the liquid medium present in the can. This is particularly necessary for tunafish, since any remaining oil or water will communicate the disagreeable taste and smell which they carry to the solid tunafish remaining, which will then be transferred to whatever foods are prepared therefrom.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for eliminating all of the problems associated with separating the liquid medium from the solid contents of canned foodstuffs, especially seafood, and more especially tunafish. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a device which allows the person operating it to apply sufficient compressive force on the can lid to express therefrom very substantial amounts of said liquid, while avoiding the necessity of touching any part of the can or lid.